In a game where most sportsbooks had the over-under set at 50.5, both Auburn and Alabama nearly covered the spread themselves. It was a game with big play after big play that eventually went Auburn’s way with a missed field goal from Alabama and then an illegal substitution to ice the game for Auburn, 48-45. Alabama was able to put up 150 more yards than Auburn along with returning a kick for a touchdown but Auburn saw Zakoby McClain and Smoke Monday both return interceptions for touchdowns. Here’s the report card from the Iron Bowl:
Quarterback: A-
It wasn’t a flashy game out of true freshman Bo Nix, but it was a good game. Nix completed 15-of-31 passes for 173 yards and a touchdown along with 44 yards on the ground and another touchdown. Nix has struggled with interceptions and fumbles on the season, but he didn’t have a single turnover during the game.
Nix’s two biggest plays came on a third-and-7 in the second quarter when he rolled out and made an off-kilter pass to Will Hastings. Following a timeout Nix’s very next pass was a back shoulder throw to Sal Cannella where only his teammate could get it for a touchdown.
Nix’s “B+” gets bumped to an “A-” simply because he punted the ball once for 42 yards.
Running Backs: A-
For the first time in awhile, Boobee Whitlow seemed to be back in full form. The starter carried the ball 16 times for 144 yards (7.1 yards per carry) but did have a costly fumble leading to an Alabama touchdown. Whitlow also had 29 receiving yards on two catches.
Whitlow was joined by Shaun Shivers whose lone carry went for 11 yards and a touchdown, trucking an Alabama defender and knocking his helmet off in the process. Freshman D.J. Williams played a much smaller role than he has recently, carrying eight times for only 16 yards.
The offensive line struggled to generate holes but that didn’t stop Whitlow from finding a way to pick up yards and keep the chains moving. Even after going down with an injury, Whitlow returned and continued to make a big impact.
Wide Receivers: B
It was a next-man-up situation for the Tigers wide receivers. On the first play of the game Anthony Schwartz was injured and did not return. Matthew Hill played a significant amount in the first half but eventually he had to leave the game as well.
The usual leading receiver Seth Williams was held to just three catches for 66 yards on 10 targets. Williams was also called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, something that could’ve really hurt Auburn. With just one reception, the star of the show was senior Sal Cannella whose toe-tap, 14-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter was nearly perfect.
It wasn’t the best performance this group has put together, but it definitely wasn’t a bad one.
Offensive Line: B-
While the offensive line wasn’t called for any penalties, and Alabama didn’t get a single sack, that doesn’t mean it was a great performance out of the group. They struggled to generate holes for the running backs, making the running game much more difficult on Whitlow and the other backs.
The biggest issue came in the pass protection. Nix rarely had much time at all to make reads and go through his progressions. In fact, Nix was commonly forced out of the pocket before even having enough time to make his first read. Alabama’s defense has been somewhat lackluster all season long but the Tigers offensive line did not do much to help Nix.
While the protection and blocking was consistently great, there were no holdings or false starts. In some of the bigger games it felt like they were consistently getting called for one of the two penalties, but the lack of penalties against Alabama was big.
Defensive Line: B-
For one of the first times all season long, Alabama was able to run freely on the Auburn defense. The Crimson Tide had 180 rushing yards on the day, 146 of which came from Najee Harris who also had a rushing touchdown. Some of that falls on the linebackers, but a lot of Alabama’s run plays were on the interior.
The group didn’t have a single sack but Derrick Brown had seven tackles along with 3.5 tackles for loss and Daquan Newkirk got the other half a tackle for loss. Brown’s roommate, Marlon Davidson, was uncharacteristically quiet, recording just two tackles. Not only did they fail to record a sack, but they really struggled to pressure Mac Jones at all. It seemed like most of the game Jones was free to sit in the pocket for a long time before he had to throw it.
Part of this can be attributed to the fatigue of an offensive shootout, but it was probably this groups worst game all season.
Linebackers: A-
The linebackers have been headlined by K.J. Britt and Owen Pappoe all season, but it was the Zakoby McClain show against Alabama. McClain had a 100-yard pick-six that helped keep Auburn in the game in the third quarter along with 11 tackles and one for loss. The sophomore had a big game against Samford and continued it in the Iron Bowl.
Britt had six tackles and half a tackle for loss and Pappoe had five tackles and half a tackle for loss.
While Alabama ran a lot of interior run plays, and that responsibility falls on the defensive line, it seemed like anytime Harris got it to the outside he would get at least five yards. Not only did Harris run the ball effectively against the group, but no one was there to stop Jones from running. On Alabama’s final drive Jones was able to pickup an 18-yard carry on the fourth-and-7.
Secondary: B-
Going up against one of the best wide receiving groups in the nation, the Auburn secondary failed to shut them down. Alabama was able to put up 335 yards and four touchdowns through the air.
Jeremiah Dinson led the group with 10 tackles, but was also called for a late hit in the third quarter. Dinson wasn’t the only one penalized. Jamien Sherwood, who sat out the first half following a targeting against Samford, was called for pass interference.
It was obviously going to be a tough task to try and shutdown Alabama through the air, but I expected the group to play better than they did. The biggest contribution of the group came from Smoke Monday. Monday filled up the stat sheet with four tackles, a sack and a pick-six.
Special Teams: A-
Had Jaylen Waddle not returned a kick for a touchdown, this would’ve easily been an “A+.” However, that cannot go unnoticed. While Auburn had struggled to cover the punt during the season, it was a kick return this time that quickly killed the momentum Auburn had after Monday's pick-six.
Kicker Anders Carlson seemed to find his groove after struggling, going four-of-four on field goals from 43, 43, 44 and 52. Carlson also hit a 54-yard field goal, but Alabama was called for offsides and Auburn got to continue their offensive drive.
Arryn Siposs punted twice for 98 yards, both landing inside the 20-yard line.
On the opposite side, Christian Tutt returned two punts for 47 yards including a 37-yard punt return to give the Tigers better field position.
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